BIRMINGHAM Council's bid to end pay discrimination is being sabotaged by its own workers.

Documents passed to The Stirrer reveal the existence of a shadowy resistance group called the BCC Employees Consortia which claims to have hundreds of members.

Its organisers are reminding colleagues they have no legal obligation to fill in the Job Evaluation Questionnaire which forms the basis of the council's wage review and advises them to delay completing it for "as long as possible".

A secret newsletter seen by The Stirrer also calls on staff to withhold part of their union subs currently donated to the Labour party, as it blames the government for causing the problem.

Council bosses have pledged to introduce a new "single status" agreement covering all employees by April 1, with the aim of ensuring that workers get the same pay for work of equal value, regardless of their gender.

Many workers will be better off, but others face cuts of thousands of pounds.

Discontent is thought to focus on the city's planning, surveyors and architects departments, where staff have warned that they will take legal action against their unions and the council if wages are slashed.

They argue that if male dominated areas of the workforce bear the brunt of the changes, it will simply be another form of discrimination.